The city of Cairo is a desirable location for many travelers, who are drawn to the dramatic ancient Egyptian sights and the invigorating modern capital city.
With many exciting attractions, Cairo is a booming tourist spot, with many people including a stop in the city, as they travel through the Middle East to other locations. The downtown area of Cairo is particularly popular due to its convenient central location. The excellent transport links within the city make navigating Cairo easy and many people look for low-budget accommodation in the downtown area, so they are perfectly located close to the main tourist spots.
So if you are looking for low-budget accommodation in the heart of Cairo, we have found the three best hostels located in the downtown area.
Read on to find out more about the 3 best hostels in Cairo.
Holy Sheet Hostel
The Holy Sheet Hostel is located within close distance of many of the city’s popular tourist sights. The Egyptian Museum and the impressive Cairo Tower are a ten-minute walk away and the well-known Tahrir Square with many restaurants and shops, is close by.
The hostel itself is a beautifully designed hostel accommodation that offers various room options for travelers on a budget. Guest rooms are well-decorated with high ceilings, and attractive interiors in comforting earthy hues. Private twin rooms include a small balcony area for guests to enjoy or large windows allowing light to stream in. Whereas shared accommodation includes bunk beds with privacy curtains and comfortable mattresses to ensure a restful night’s sleep.
The hostel has a communal lounge, and kitchen where guests can prepare their own meals. Complimentary wi-fi is available throughout the hostel and there are also concierge services for guests, who will arrange airport transfers for all their guests.
Travelers choose this hostel due to its convenient location, impressive decor, and excellent amenities, which include comfortable beds and clean hot showers. The hostel also provides a generous breakfast option and the staff is more than happy to help guests plan an itinerary or book activities within the city.
Hostel details
Address:
2 Al-Qady Al-Fadel st. Downtown, 2nd Floor, Cairo, Egypt.
Guest rating:
4.7 out of 5.
Price per night:
from $8
Wake Up Cairo Hostel
The Wake Up Cairo Hostel is excellently located on the banks of the River Nile making it the ideal hostel for travelers to navigate the city. Popular cultural attractions are very close by and can be reached by either a short walk or a quick taxi ride. The Egyptian Museum is located 200 meters away and the Cairo Opera House is located close by on the Nile island of Gezira.
The metro station is close to the hostel making this stay perfect for those looking to explore the vast city, and the trendy area of Zamalek is a short drive away.
The Wake Up Cairo hostel is colorfully decorated with large comfortable beds and various room options. Guests can book into a private twin, triple, or family room or choose to stay in the shared dormitory-style rooms. The hostel is happy to help guests during their stay and offers excellent amenities such as free wifi in the lobby area, air-conditioned rooms, and 24-hour security and reception. Guests can also store their luggage here before or after checkout and there are also washing machines and dryer facilities.
Travelers enjoy staying at the Wake Up Cairo Hostel due to the splendid breakfast included in the room price, and the convenient central location.
Hostel details
Address:
33 A Ramsis st, Marouf Tower, Downtown, Cairo, Egypt.
Guest rating:
4.6 out of 5.
Price per night:
from $4
Dahab Hostel
The Dahab Hostel is a bright and airy hostel located close to all the popular tourist spots in downtown Cairo. The Khan El-Khalili Market world-famous street market is close by and the Old Town areas of the city are within walking distance. Other areas of interest such as the Cairo Opera House and the Cairo Tower are also close by.
The hostel has a unique approach to hostel accommodation with painted wooden huts located on the rooftop recreating the feel of Sinai Beach camp, and offering guests a laid-back atmosphere. Guests at the hostel can choose from private single and double rooms or shared dormitory accommodations with large, comfortable beds.
The Dahab Hostel has created the ideal chilled-out place for guests to enjoy, such as the outdoor garden area where guests can socialize during their stay in Cairo. Guests can also unwind on the rooftop terrace to the sounds of fabulous reggae music playing as they smoke a traditional Shisha ‘Water pipe’.
The Dahab hostel accommodation also includes complimentary wi-fi access and guests can relax knowing they will be transferred from the airport by the hostel’s pickup service.
Travelers enjoy staying at this hostel due to its excellent central location and the idyllic outdoor spaces and the laid-back vibe of the hostel, where guests can escape the hectic noise of the city.
Hostel details
Address:
26 Mahmoud Bassiouny St., Cairo, Egypt.
Guest rating:
4.6 out of 5.
Price per night:
from $8
About our Cairo hostel recommendations
Whether you’re a solo traveler looking for a private room, or a backpacker traveling around in a group wanting to stay in a cheap and cozy dorm, above you will find the best hostels in Cairo for all your needs.
Please note that we only list hostels on our website with an aggregated guest review rating of at least 4.0 out of 5. We aggregated all reviews from different booking sites and other unbiased review websites. Hence, you can be certain all hostels listed above offer a magnificent value-for-money stay in Cairo.
Best price guarantee
For our hostel recommendations, we work together with Hostelworld and Booking. These partnerships don’t have any influence on the recommendations we make or on the order in which our recommended hostels are listed. The reasons why we have chosen to partner with these companies are that they’re trustworthy, offer excellent service and both apply the best price guarantee.
This means you can claim a refund for the difference if you find your reservation cheaper on another website. It has to be for the same property, accommodation type, dates, cancellation policy and conditions, otherwise, you can’t claim a refund for the difference. If you book through Booking.com then all you need to do is contact them at least 24 hours before your check-in date. If you book through Hostelworld you must claim the refund within 24 hours after you made the booking.
Top 3 hostels in Cairo
To summarize again, based on thousands of guest reviews, these are the best hostels in Cairo:
Why you should be careful when booking the cheapest hostel available
Booking the cheapest hostel available is not recommended for a few reasons:
- The cheapest hostels available are typically not in a great location. If you want to go sightseeing or go for a night out in central Cairo, you probably end up having to pay for public transport or a taxi to get there. So your stay could end up being more expensive compared to a stay in a central location. For first-time travelers, we recommend staying central anyway, but also for frequent visitors, it’s probably worth it to pay a bit more to stay in a central location.
- Another reason why you shouldn’t stay at the cheapest hostel is that the people staying at the cheapest hostels are often not the people that can afford to travel like you. Because a very cheap hostel is often cheaper than renting a flat, these places tend to attract migrant workers or local misfits. That’s probably not the crowd you want to hang out with, especially if you’re a solo traveler looking for friends.
- The third reason why you should avoid the cheapest hostels is safety. Some of the cheapest hostels don’t check IDs, don’t ask for signatures, or only accept cash at check-in. The hostel won’t know who is actually staying there.
- Lastly, the service at these hostels isn’t great. For instance, if you choose to store your luggage, your bags will be unattended in a public space. It won’t be recorded anywhere or tagged and stored in a locked room.
So, it’s probably worth it to spend a bit more on your hostel stay in Cairo.
And finally, a tip: always read the latest reviews of the hostel! All places have good and bad reviews, but the most recent reviews matter the most.
More Cairo tips
Get to know the city even better and check out our other articles about Cairo:
